Elora man died from fall after 1933 drinking session

On the evening of Nov. 28, 1933, Elora’s volunteer militia gathered at the Armory Hall (now the home of Elora’s LCBO outlet) for their regular weekly training exercises.

J.K. McDonald, who had held a commissioned rank in the army during the First World War, was the officer in charge of doing the training.

Among the volunteers taking that training was Joseph Nelson, a 23-year old resident of Salem. After the session, Nelson remained in the building, sitting in a storage area at the rear of the building with Jim and Bill Shafer, and a couple of other friends. Their incentive was a cache of beer, apparently left there following the Elora Legion’s Armistice Day banquet held in the building earlier in the month.

Each of the young men downed several bottles of the beverage before leaving the building and setting out for home a little past midnight. Nelson had consumed more than the others. He was accompanied by his pals, the Shafer brothers, who guided him as they set out on their trek. They had crossed the old bridge (the Metcalfe Street span was not yet built) and were walking along Mill Street when Nelson slipped and fell on a patch of ice, striking his head on the concrete sidewalk.

Dazed, Nelson required the assistance of the Shafer brothers to stand up, and was unable to walk without their assistance. His friends flagged down a passing car, and asked the driver to take them to the Nelson residence in Salem.

Nelson lived with his stepfather, John, who was asleep when the young men arrived. The Shafers offered to put their friend to bed, but the senior Nelson believed that Joseph had imbibed more than his share of beer, and asked that they leave him in the kitchen in case he became sick. They propped him up on a kitchen chair before leaving.

A few minutes later, Joseph slipped to the floor, and his stepfather was unable to get any response from him. Alarmed, Nelson roused a neighbour, Bill McLean. His opinion was that the situation was serious. He called Dr. J.H. O’Brien, who arrived in a few minutes. The Doctor concluded that the young man was dead, likely of a brain haemorrhage. He called the coroner, Dr. William Kerr, who confirmed Dr. O’Brien’s conclusions, and began arrangements for an inquest. By then it was 2:30am.

By noon the following day the sudden death had caused a sensation in Elora. Reporters for several dailies, including the Toronto papers, gave the story major coverage. Capt. J.K. McDonald told reporters that he was very surprised at Nelson’s death, as he had always been in the best of health. He admitted that Nelson was fond of taking a drink, but would say no more, stating that “the facts would come out at the inquest.”

Constable Lloyd Mennie of the provincial police conducted an investigation, but found hard information difficult to uncover. Officials postponed the inquest twice. It was called to order on Dec. 18 at the old Elora Town Hall by Dr. William Kerr. The room was packed, and about 100 people had to be turned away. Interest in the case had remained high. The Toronto Globe gave the session front-page coverage.

The testimony of various witnesses revealed that the militia training sessions normally ended with refreshments of sandwiches and coffee. Beer was sometimes stored in the back of the hall, but no one seemed to know who the rightful owner was. Occasionally the militia members would imbibe some of it.

According to Capt. McDonald, beer had been available at the Legion’s banquet on Nov. 10, and the leftover stock had been stored at the back of the hall. He stated that those drinking the beer had paid for it into a fund that was used to pay for the sandwiches and coffee normally consumed after the militia drills. McDonald himself enjoyed a drink, and he hinted that he had no objection to the militia volunteers enjoying a bottle of beer after the training sessions were over.

Sam Trilesky, president of Legion Branch 229, testified that the beer was neither purchased by nor owned by the Legion. The branch had no money for beer, he stated. He had no idea where the beer served at the banquet had come from, and no purchase of beer had been approved at any Legion executive meeting.

The banquet had been catered by the women of the Rebekah Lodge, Trilesky stated. Beer was served in glasses at the tables while those present heard the speeches that followed the meal. He had first learned of the beer was when someone at the banquet told him that it was available in the back room. He believed it had been donated, but did not know who the donor was.

The Legion was represented at the inquest by its own lawyer, who questioned several of the witnesses on the subject of the beer.

The Shafer brothers revealed nothing new that had not been published in the press following Nelson’s death. They thought Joseph Nelson had consumed too much on the fateful night, and that after his fall he was merely showing signs of drunkenness, not injury. 

Altogether, Crown Attorney J.M. Kearns called nine witnesses, including Dr. O’Brien, the first doctor to examine the deceased. The jury deliberated for 30 minutes before returning a verdict of accidental death, with no blame attributable to any person.

The authorities remained interested in the beer: who owned it, and who was paying for it. It appears that President Sam Trilesky, of the Legion, was worried that it might be linked to that organization. Talking to reporters, he insisted that the Legion had no connection with it. The OPP hinted that charges might be laid regarding the beer and the apparent availability of it at the Legion banquet. No liquor permit had been applied for or granted for that event.

Beer had been available legally in Ontario since 1927, but the rules were very restrictive, and authorities were anxious to clamp down severely on any infractions. In this case, though, no charges were laid, probably because no witnesses seemed willing to testify.

Neither Dr. Kerr at the inquest nor Constable Mennie of the provincial police found anyone willing to reveal the ownership of the beer, who supplied it, who paid for it, or why it was stored at the back of the Armory Hall. The Legion’s executive subsequently was much more cautious in its handling of beer. 

On Jan. 9, John Nelson entered suit against the village of Elora through his lawyers, Wilson and Wilson, of Fergus. He asked for $5,000 for the municipality’s negligence in allowing ice to form on the Mill Street sidewalk, which had resulted in his stepson’s fall and subsequent death.

Elora’s insurance company dealt with the case. It appears that the matter was settled out of court, with a minimum of publicity.

The Elora Express did not give the death of Joseph Nelson much coverage. The Fergus News Record published only two stories on the case, one of them a mere three paragraphs on page 8. The Toronto papers, at the other extreme, covered the story in detail. Nelson’s death and the inquest made the front page of the Toronto Globe no fewer than four times.

It was not unusual in that era for local papers to play down stories that were covered in much greater detail by newspapers elsewhere in the province.

This story is certainly one of them.

 

Stephen Thorning

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